dedicated to the fairer sex

Posts Tagged ‘single life’

Today a friend posted a fun little meme on her Facebook page, it had a picture of a blank piece of notebook paper and under it the question:

If you could write a note to your younger self, in two words, what would you say?

That was actually quite tough… just two words? Three words came pretty easy, but this was a challenge! I thought for a while, and then finally figured out what I would write to Bennie the Younger…

If you could write a note to your younger self, in two words, what would you say?

Thinking back to so many times in my life, if I would have heeded these words rather than the self-doubt that always seemed to plague my thoughts… well, I’ve no doubt life would’ve been a lot more fun 🙂

Earlier this year I wrote a blogpost mentioning that one of the obstacles I foresaw to me actually being able to date someone is the fact that I didn’t have a decent car I’d not be embarrassed to pick up a date in. First impressions matter, and when you meet someone and they see you’re driving a wore-out old car they probably make at least a minor judgment or two about you.

But having an wore-out old car wasn’t just a problem for potential dating… it also impacted all sorts of things. I mean, just picking up anyone — not just a date, but a friend or co-worker — was embarrassing. And having to constantly put it in the shop to get fixed, worrying about rides to and from the mechanic… and then the fear of breaking down on the side of the road with my kids in the car, not just for their sake but also the ration of shit I’d likely have to hear from their mother when she heard about it. Not to mention how limiting it is when you can’t take a road trip to something fun or a family function or what have you because you’re worried about your car not making it…

Anyway, about a month ago another mechanical issue arose in my car and it was the last straw. I’d already begun doing the research and what I wanted in a car and had narrowed my choices to a Ford Focus or a Kia Soul.

All it took was sitting in the Kia Soul to make my mind.

Yes, I am a Kia Soul hamster too

I totally fell for this thing. I have to admit the funky box-style of some of the modern cars appeal to me, and the Soul is one of the funkier, boxier ones out there.

What really sold it was how affordable the one was that I looked at. It’s a 2010 with some miles on it, and there’s a few scratches to the paint in the front, which all seemed to knock the price down quite a bit. But the previous owner kept the oil changed and performed regular maintenance (thanks, Carfax!), and this was even the Kia Soul Exclaim (or Kia Soul ! ), which had some nice extra features like a sunroof and a killer stereo system.

So I bought it.

It’s not neon green, it’s “alien”

So I’m going to share some pics from my baby…

❤

Approaching this every morning makes me smile…

I just love the back of this car, it’s so weird looking and cool

My iPod has a little bit of everything

The stereo is freaking amazing. One night after work not long after I got the car I went out into the driveway and sat in my car and just cranked the stereo. It made me realize how much I love music, but that I really don’t have much opportunity to just kick out the jams anywhere except when I’m in my car driving, so having the option to really turn up the volume and feel the music is awesome.

The stereo can also communicate with my iPhone via Bluetooth so I can make hands-free calls and hear the other person through my speakers and there’s a mic in the roof that picks up what I say. To activate, I hit a button on the steering wheel and say “dial” and then either a number or a person’s name that’s in my contacts list. I realize that this technology isn’t exactly new– this is a 2010 model after all — but it’s new to me!

The other weekend a friend came into town on business and needed someone local to drive him around the city, and it pleased me to no end to be able to do that for him. To pick him up in a nice ride that I didn’t have to worry about breaking down at an inconvenient time. And I’m stoked to be able to take the kids on the road to visit with family during the upcoming holidays and not even think twice about it!

So the other day I was listening to the awesome podcast Why You Suck In Bed, Episode 73 “Cali Returns, Part 1.” They had one of the original hosts, Cali Rose, back on for the night to talk about what she’d been up to, and along with the other original and current host Dr. Stacy, and new host Molly, it was a glorious romp through various sexual topics from the female perspective.

Dr. Stacy from the Why You Suck in Bed podcast

At one point the talk turned to nipple rings. Dr. Stacy doesn’t have nipple rings and was asking the other two about them; Cali used to have nipple rings, and Molly currently has nipple rings. Then came this exchange, which piqued my attention:

Dr. Stacy: Do you ladies not agree that the nipples are the most neglected body parts during sex?

Molly: YES! It’s like you’ve got to force the guy to fucking suck on them.

Doctor Stacy: It’s like “remember these??”

Molly went on to add another benefit of nipple rings is as a way to get guys to notice and pay attention to the nipples.

I have to admit to being flabbergasted. What kind of lame guys are these women sleeping with that are ignoring their nipples?! Women’s breasts are awesome, how can you neglect them when you’ve got a woman offering her body to you? I mean, sure — there are all sorts of wonderful lady parts to devour that you can get a bit overwhelmed by the yummy choices, but c’mon– the nipples and breasts are cake! (more…)

I was pretty stoked the other day when I saw on Facebook that The National had booked Of Monsters and Men to play November 26th. I mentioned recently that Florence + The Machine is one of the bands that I most want to see perform live right now; Of Monsters and Men was another one. I’m so in love with their song “Little Talks” — the music, the vocals, the lyrics. The lead singer’s got a beautiful voice that’s similar to Bjork but without trying too hard to be weird. The other singer looks like a gnome. I love that they have someone who plays accordian and people who play horns. It’s just a total package of awesome. Here’s a video of them performing it live:

Anyway, I went ahead and bought two tickets. I don’t know who I’ll be taking with me yet but I’ve got time to hopefully find someone.

I’M SO STOKED!!

Ahem.

Anyway… then this past Monday I get an email newsletter from the local rock station telling me about this big promotion they’re giving away called The Ultimate Ticket. You and a friend get to go to Voodoo Experience featuring Green Day, Jack White, AWOLNATION, Silversun Pickups and MORE in New Orleans October 26th-28th. As if a trip to New Orleans wasn’t sweet enough, but when I checked out Voodoo Experience there’s like a zillion bands playing.

And if that wasn’t enough, the winner also gets tickets to every show at The National for a year– in the sweet VIP section! I suspect that might make for pretty good date bait, eh?

Anyway, it sounded so good I set up alarms on my phone all week to make sure I turned on the radio and listened for my shot to win. And Monday I heard the call-out, dialed and dialed and dialed… and I won on the first day! No, I didn’t actually win The Ultimate Ticket– I qualified to win. Once each day last week they qualified a person to be entered into a drawing to win The Ultimate Ticket. The promotion is being sponsored by a local car company, and you can drop your name into a hat there at the car dealership, and I think they’re drawing some names from there to add to the mix. I’m not sure how many people will ultimately qualify– I’m guessing it will be somewhere between 10 and 20 people — but then those people get some sort of prize (we’ll be getting a call this week to tell us what the prize is), and we get to go to “a big shindig” the radio station is holding, and they’ll pick the grand prize winner there. I figure I’ve got a 5-10% chance of winning the big prize, which is much better odds than winning the lotto, right?

So… I’ve got two tickets to a “big shindig” held by the local rock station to go to, tickets to Of Monsters and Men, and the possibility of tickets to a big music festival in New Orleans… and no dates for any of ’em– yet. Not a bad problem to have I suppose, though the trick is to find someone willing to both go out with a 45 year old man and also want to go see a new rock show and go to a rock station party? If I’m lucky enough to win the trip to New Orleans it’ll be nice to have the problem of finding someone to go with me there 🙂

Like this:

The other day I met a woman who kinda knocked my socks off. I’d talked to her a few times on the phone, and exchanged lots of emails, but this was the first face-to-face. She’s smart, has a lovely, infectious smile and a real easy-going presence that naturally draws you into conversation.

She’s also got an engagement ring… which I can’t lie was a little disappointing, but even so… just after that five minute conversation, she’s the kind of woman that brought to mind a quote from a scene from that movie As Good As It Gets, with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt:

Melvin: I’ve got a really great compliment for you, and it’s true.Carol: I’m so afraid you’re about to say something awful.Melvin: Don’t be pessimistic, it’s not your style. Okay, here I go: Clearly, a mistake. I’ve got this, what – ailment? My doctor, a shrink that I used to go to all the time, he says that in fifty or sixty percent of the cases, a pill really helps. I *hate* pills, very dangerous thing, pills. Hate. I’m using the word “hate” here, about pills. Hate. My compliment is, that night when you came over and told me that you would never… all right, well, you were there, you know what you said. Well, my compliment to you is, the next morning, I started taking the pills.Carol: I don’t quite get how that’s a compliment for me.Melvin: You make me want to be a better man.Carol: …That’s maybe the best compliment of my life.Melvin: Well, maybe I overshot a little, because I was aiming at just enough to keep you from walking out.